Water bills set to fall but watchdogs warn prices still too high

Published on Monday 26 October 2009 21:09

CONSUMERS could pay less for their water over the next six years thanks to efficiency savings by Scottish Water.

Average household bills are expected to remain "broadly stable" then fall slightly, the firm's regulator will say today.

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland says annual bills are forecast to fall from the current 312 average to about 290 by 2014-2015.

This could also widen the gap with consumers in England, who are already paying an average of 18 a year more than Scottish Water customers.

Only three English water firms – Northumbrian, Severn Trent and Thames – have lower average charges.

However, consumer watchdogs said water charges remained too high for many struggling families, who had contributed to nearly 300 million in unpaid bills.

Publicly owned Scottish Water is due to announce in December its charges from next April. This will follow details from the commission next month about how much the company can spend and borrow. Prices went up by 3.7 per cent this year – one of the lowest increases in the UK.

Scottish Water declined to say how it would make savings until receiving the commission's figures. It employs some 3,500 staff and 5,500 contractors.

A spokesman said: "We are looking at all our costs, including internal costs and our external contractors."

The regulator's report into Scottish Water's annual costs and performance showed the firm had kept spending within targets despite extra work to fix leaks to reduce water wastage.

Chief executive Alan Sutherland said: "During 2010-15, Scottish Water is expected to make further savings and customers can look forward to broadly stable bills as a result." But Waterwatch Scotland said stable charges did not mean everyone could afford them.

Chief officer Gary Womersley said: "It's good that every effort is being made to keep water charges down but you can't just set charges and expect every household to find them easy to pay.

"The fact that there is an accumulated total of 288.5 million of unpaid water charges in Scotland must tell the regulator that there isn't adequate support for low-income households.

"The whole water industry in Scotland must take meaningful steps to help families who are struggling, or the level of unpaid debt will simply continue to ramp up."

Scottish Water said its continued beating of cost targets had enabled domestic bills to remain steady.

Chief executive Richard Ackroyd said: "Our household customers continue to enjoy an average charge which is lower than eight of the companies south of the Border."